Auschwitz metal stamps with embedded needles, which were used by Nazis to
tattoo inmates, have been discovered in Poland in 'one of the most important
finds in years'

Metal stamps with embedded needles that the SS once used to tattoo inmates at the notorious Nazi death camp at Auschwitz have been discovered in Poland.

The find has been hailed by the Auschwitz museum, which now stands on the site of the camp, as one "of the most significant in years" as it was thought no original tattooing equipment survived the war.

SS soldiers used the small stamps, consisting of a two, two threes and a six or a nine, to tattoo inmates as they were processed on their arrival at the camp in German-occupied Poland.

Some prisoners got the tattoo on the chest but most were tattooed on their arms, and the numbers became a hallmark of Auschwitz's inhumanity.

"This is one of the most important finds in years," said Piotr Cywinski, director of the Auschwitz museum. "We never believed that we would get the original tools for tattooing prisoners after such a long time.

"The sight of a tattoo is getting rarer every day as former prisoners pass away, but these stamps still speak of the dramatic history that took place here even after all these decades," he added.

"They will become a valuable exhibit in forthcoming exhibitions."

The museum has declined to say who discovered the stamps and where they were found - other than to confirm they were unearthed in Poland and that their finder wishes to remain anonymous.

Auschwitz was the only Nazi camp that tattooed its prisoners. At first identification numbers were sown onto inmates' clothing but the practice was dropped because the clothes often disintegrated and camp guards found it difficult to identify the dead who had been stripped before death.

The metal stamps were slid into a wooden block to form a number, which was pushed into flesh of the prisoner. Ink was then rubbed into the wound to create a tattoo.